


Adventures of Adaar and Garuda

by WyattShepard



Series: Dungeons and Dragons [7]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-07 16:29:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14674995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WyattShepard/pseuds/WyattShepard
Summary: The first account of many that detail the adventures of a mage that summoned something that would change his life. Follow Adaar and Garuda as they travel through a kingdom that outlawed magic, face down a robotic army, work with angels to take down a lich, and more.





	Adventures of Adaar and Garuda

When I was young, around two or three years old, my family was forced out of our country by a rival family called the Blackwell’s. I never have met any of the Blackwell house personally, but father always would talk about how our families had once been friends. If you haven’t spent a decent amount of time on the run let me tell you that it changes you. Kind men become bitter and cold, constantly running from their past but never really outrunning it. It took seven years before my family managed to overthrow the Blackwell’s rule. Seven years and more then three countries who were sick of them, and poof: we didn’t have to run anymore. My family was raised to nobility for our part in removing the Blackwell’s from power and as a teenager I basked in the many pleasures that nobility has, and for a time that is what kept my magic hidden. Eventually that had to end however, as the Kingdom was threatened by foreign invaders on all our borders. I was drafted into the military and since I was of noble blood I was given a rank to match. I was Captain Adaar of the 3rd Heavy Cavalry Regiment, and have been holding off the tides of invaders on the southern border of the kingdom for what feels like years…

Adaar read over what he had written and scratched his chin with the quill. The dim shadows from the candlelight danced around his tent and flickered over the page he had spent the last hour on. He leaned back and sighed and set the quill down before pushing himself out of the chair.

“Tsk, I’m gonna be writing this even after this stupid war is over,” he mumbled to himself. He yawned and peeked outside the tent to the rest of the camp. It was still night, and if he were to guess it was still several hours before morning. Knowing that sleep wouldn’t come tonight, the slim man pushed the tent flap aside and strode off into the night. There was a small grove near the camp that he often visited in the middle of the night, maybe five minutes away from everyone else. Adaar found himself there again sitting on the same flat rock by the water. He would come out here to look at the stars most of the time. It was how he dealt with the stress of battle and command. He considered himself to be a poor captain; after all, noble blood didn’t mean that he knew how to lead men into battle. He sighed and put his hands behind his head as he lounged, turning his gaze towards the night sky.

“At least I have a beautiful night sky to enjoy,” he frowned after a moment. He felt like he was being watched.

“Well well now boys, look what we found,” Adaar started to roll from the rock but something heavy slammed into him. Green hands grabbed him and threw him against a tree. He cried out in pain, but his captors only laughed. Three orcs had him pinned against a tree; he swallowed hard.

“A little human alone and lost,” the second orc taunted, his grip tightening on Adaar painfully. He noticed now that these three had enemy colors on.

“Hold on there,” the first one said, “he’s the enemy.” Adaar’s eyes widened.

“Listen, you don’t want to do this. My camp is about 5 minutes away, they will notice I’m missing.” Adaar reasoned pathetically.

“Or, we kill you, and just kill the rest of that camp in the morning,” the orc holding him said, making the struggling man freeze. He had just told them about the camp. The will to resist found him again and his fighting renewed, which only tightened the grip holding him there. He heard the scrape of steel on steel as one of them drew their sword.

“You don’t have to do this,” He tried again, flailing his legs to try and help break free. As the blade was brought back Adaar closed his eyes and waited for the end. The screaming snapped him out of it. The orc had dropped his blade and was bleeding from the neck. The other two jumped to action but something covered in feathers slammed into him and disappeared into the trees.

“More will come human, you haven’t bought your people any time with this trick,” the final orc said right before a large being clad in white feathers dropped down onto him. It was over in seconds and Adaar sat in a mixture of mud and blood as he caught his breath.

“You there, creature panting in the dirt,” It said in a voice like rushing wind. It turned to face him then, and Adaar was surprised to find that it looked like a woman. A 7-foot tall woman covered in feathers sporting giant claws, wings, and talons, but a woman nonetheless. Her black eyes studied him for a moment before she dragged him up and slammed him against the same tree the orcs had.

“Surely you cannot be what I felt,” she trailed off. Adaar remained perfectly still. If whatever she is just tore through those orcs like they were made of paper, he didn’t need to be told what she could do to him.

“Human,” She growled again as she kept him pinned to the tree.

“My name is Adaar, and could you please let me down,” he asked bravely. She seemed to consider this for a moment before letting him drop to the grass.

“A-d-aa-r,” She sounded it out, frowning at how the words tasted on her tongue.

“What a strange thing to call you,” she shook her head, “it doesn’t matter.” She leveled her gaze on him now.

“What called me here,” she demanded. When the smaller man only stared back at her she frowned again.

“Called you here? I’m not even sure I know what you are… no offense,” he offered before adding, “Thanks for saving me by the way.”

“Adar are you a mage,” she questioned.

“It’s… It’s Adaar,” he said meekly. She glared at him, unblinking.

“I wouldn’t consider myself a mage, but I am capable of mage craft yes. Magic is outlawed in this kingdom however, which has forced me to keep my magic a secret my whole life,” he responded sheepishly, after looking away from her gaze. She seemed taken aback from what he had said.

“To think that your humans would outlaw magic,” she muttered

The soldier was surprised when she offered him one of her emerald feather plumes. He reached out and gingerly took it and turned it over in his hands. The colors of the feather seemed to shift and change as if they were being blow around by a strong wind.

“What is this,” he asked while he examined the shifting colors.

“One of my feathers. Use it as a catalyst for a summoning. That small piece of me will stay with you to discover why I was called here, to you,” she explained. Adaar glanced up from the feather to see her walking to the middle of the clearing.

“Wait, where are you from then? What even are you,” he asked urgently. She simply glanced over her shoulder and flared her wings.

“The word mortals use is ‘outsider’, but I am a goddess of storms,” she responded, causing his eyes to widen.

“That would mean you came here from the Outer Planes,” he whispered, astounded. He became lost in his thoughts for a moment, his mind reeling from meeting an actual outsider.

“So the stories my dad used to tell me are true,” he began to ask, but when he glanced back to the clearing she was gone, the only sign that she had even been there was the single emerald feather she had given him and the three dead orcs.

\----

Adaar sat in his tent staring at the feather in front of him on the desk, his hazel eyes watching the swirling hues of emerald. What she had asked him to do would involve using his magic, and if anyone at the forward camp found out it would most likely lead to him being discharged and jailed. On the other hand if he didn’t do what she said she might come back angry. He swallowed hard and nodded to himself.

Right, time to get it over with, he thought as he took a piece of chalk and began to draw the summoning formula on his desk. It was still an hour before dawn so he shouldn’t have any interruptions. He had messed around with summoning before, but nothing to this degree. He knew that creating a familiar needed something related to what you wanted to summon and that having the feather would create a very stable and potentially powerful familiar, as it was directly from what he wanted to summon. He finished drawing the diagram and placed the feather in the center of it.

Here goes nothing, He thought as he added just a little bit of magic to the diagram. He felt the warm sensation wash down his arm to his fingertips and had to close his eyes as the lines he had drawn began glowing with the magic he was adding to them. There was a loud crack and he was thrown to the other side of the tent. The mage curled into a ball and started to scream. It felt as if fire had been ignited under his skin. His entire body was wracked with agony, the fire only growing hotter as shouting outside the tent became urgent. He continued to scream long after the air was emptied from his lungs.

Ah, it seems that I won’t be able to hide my magic after all, he thought as consciousness slipped from him.

When he eventually awoke it took a moment for his eyes to adjust and he blinked several times. There was a wide circle made up of his soldiers surrounding him, but between the men and himself stood a woman. Closer inspection revealed that she was a smaller version of what had killed the orcs earlier. She also appeared to be protecting him from his own soldiers.

“Captain are you alright,” One of the soldiers shouted, having noticed that he was awake. Worry crossed all their faces as he struggled to sit up.

The woman turned at the sound of him struggling and the soldiers pushed their weapons closer to her in response. Adaar saw her feathers ruffle slightly but the rest of her went stock still.

“Men please, lower your weapons. This woman saved my life from enemy soldiers that infiltrated camp,” He spoke up, his voice raspy from screaming. The rest of his body still ached but he could deal with an ache, what had happened earlier was much worse. The soldiers lowered their weapons slowly, confusion evident on their faces.

“Please, she is my guest and now my savior I suppose. She chased four orcs into the forest but one of them managed to hit me with a magical attack before they fled. I want their bodies found and examined for any useful information,” He said in a voice of authority. They all saluted instantly and filed out. Thankfully it was after they all had left that she chose to speak.

“I didn’t do any of those things though, Master,” She said, her voice almost identical to the being she was summoned from. He chuckled lightly as he struggled to stand, the muscles in his body violently protesting the action. She moved to help him up but he looked up at her and shook his head. After several minutes he managed to stand on his own but had to have help from her to make it back to his chair.

“Why did you call me Master,” He asked at length. She met his eyes with what he could only describe as a surprised deer.

“You summoned me, we share a connection,” She responded. She then gestured to her forehead where a symbol began glowing. He noticed the same light coming from his forehead and assumed that the same symbol was there.

“I actually was unsure if the summoning was successful or not,” He responded as the glowing faded.

“Why did you tell those men that I saved you,” She questioned after another moment of silence.

“Because technically the spell I cast to summon you is against the law of the kingdom, and could really land me in some hot water if anyone finds out. Magic is outlawed here.” He explained.

“Hmm,” she hummed in response.

“For now,” he said as he picked up the loose papers scattered around the table from the spell, “just act as if you were invited here by me and fended off those orcs. I only have a couple months remaining of service before I can return home. We have to make sure no one discovers what you really are while we wait.” She waited until he was finished and nodded.

By the way, what’s your name,” He asked, directing a curious glance over his shoulder at her.

“Name?” He turned to fully face her now.

“Yeah, you will need a name if you’re gonna interact with the others,” he explained. She pursed her lips together and frowned.

“You kind of remind me of a character from the stories my father used to tell me. How about Garuda,” he offered.

“I like it, Master,” She said and smiled slightly to him. He blushed slightly before pushing his glasses higher on his nose and clearing his throat.

“We might have to find something else for you to call me. People might get the wrong idea,” He said.

“Captain,” one of the soldiers yelled from outside the tent.

“You may enter,” Adaar responded. The man nearly fell through the flap to the tent on his way in.

“We have found three orc bodies on the outskirts of the camp. We also found something you will want to see,” he reported before saluting and leaving. Adaar and Garuda exchanged quizzical glances before following.


End file.
